Alabama introduces marijuana legalization bill

Alabama seeks to join Colorado and Washington in becoming the third state to fully legalize marijuana and regulate it for retail sale under the same rules as alcohol.

Rep. Patricia Todd (D) of Birmingham introduced a bill this week called the Alabama Cannabis and Hemp Reform Act of 2013 that will legalize up to an ounce of marijuana for anyone over 21. The bill would also allow for the cultivation of up to 12 marijuana plants at home.

You’d think hippie states like California and Hawaii would be leading the charge on legalizing marijuana, or perhaps the don’t-tread-on-me state of New Hampshire. Alabama does seem like a strange state to join the forefront of drug decriminalization. And the state did reject a medical marijuana bill in February. Then again, Kentucky conservative Mitch McConnell teamed up with Rand Paul on a legal hemp bill, so you never know. (Hawaii introduced a legal weed bill earlier this year, but it failed in the state legislature.)

Marijuana legalization made news again Thursday with a new poll showing that for the first time a majority of Americans support legalization, 52 percent to 45 percent.